Boston College fifth-year senior Mallory Champa recently completed an interesting double at the ACC Championships. She ran, and won, a stellar 9 minute, 20.49 second 3,000-meter race a day after seeking a sub-16:20 5,000 and finishing with a sub-par performance (17:17.36) that left her hungry, half-barefoot and blistered. She's going to give the 5K another shot at the Armory this weekend.

Today is a Sunday. Did you get your long run in?

Well, actually coach told me to take it a little bit easy today, so I did about 30.

Were you putting me on when I contacted you, or are you really a big fan of Flotrack?

Am I fan of the website? Oh my gosh, I'm a HUGE fan of the website! Where else am I going to get my track and field information? Right?

That's what we like to hear! Anyway, can you walk me through your 3K at ACCs?

Yeah, the 3K. Well, it's funny because I went into ACCs planning on doubling and doing the 5K/3K double. I'm not sure if you saw the results of the 5K.

No, I'm sorry. I didn't (quite embarrassed).

No, that's fine! It's a bummer, because I had all of my energy in the 5K for this weekend. Coach said it was probably my best shot for qualifying for NCAAs, according to the way I've been working out and stuff. I had this big goal of doing something really great in the 5K and was very much prepared and was going to use the 3K as icing on the cake. Whatever happens, happens in that race. In the 5K, actually, I stepped on my shoe and it came off in the first lap. It was such a bummer. I was a little shaken up, but was like, “whatever, you can do this. Your shoe came off once in cross country! You can still race with one shoe!” I end up running the first 2K with the leaders and that was actually a blazing fast time, I wasn't really paying attention to the time and then I just fell off hardcore. I didn't drop out, but I just kept jogging through the race. Then I had these huge blisters on my toes and my whole right calf is just cramped up. My coach was like, “do a shakeout tomorrow and see how you feel. If you don't want to do the 3K, it's not a big deal.” I told him “no” and I needed to do it. I'm not coming down there for just that 5K.

I really went into the 3K just super relaxed. I wasn't nervous—and I get really, really nervous for races. It kind of felt like a blessing in disguise. I got a second shot. I wanted to relay that energy that I had for the 5K plan into the 3K and hopefully I'd feel OK. I was wearing spikes that time—I was wearing spikes for the 5K, which is a bummer because I spent so much energy trying to figure out what shoes I wanted to wear for the 5K...and then ended up being in one shoe anyway. The 3K, I wasn't super-pumped because of the second chance. My right calf was so cramped up and I was so nervous that my whole right leg would go tired again...which is no fun. My coach came up to me right before the race and says, “win, lose or draw...I love you anyway!” I was like, “thanks, Coach, you're great!” I went in pumped to have an second chance and followed through on my race strategy from my 5K and blew myself away. I couldn't believe how well I did.

Had your blisters cleared up from the 5K?

I only had one blister that had filled up and a couple of my toes had blisters on the ends. My athletic training drained the one on my big toe and when he did that...the blisters weren't affecting me at all. I put a bandaid on and it was fine. It was just the pain in my calf. I couldn't even massage it. I think it was because I ran on my toes. I must have run on my toes on my right foot the whole 5K. That's where the blisters were and my calf...I was trying to massage out my calf and I couldn't and was getting really frustrated a couple of hours before my race. I didn't care. I thought, “If I go in this 3K and have a horrible race, at least I didn't decide to not do the 3K because I had a bad experience the day before.”

Why didn't you drop out?

I think it was one of those things that always crosses your mind, but you can't get yourself to do it. I was waiting to see if coach would tell me to drop out, but he wasn't and I was thinking that I'd keep plugging. Then I was thinking about the 3K and wondering if I dropped out if I'd run it better. Then I just stopped thinking and wasn't really racing it...just jogging it. There's just something about not dropping out of a race.

Are you going to have to get back out there for a Last Chance Meet?

Yup. I'm going to go out to the Armory Meet in New York City on Friday (today) to try to get one more crack at it! It was between the Armory and ECACs here in Boston. I think my coach figured that we have a couple of other girls who are running right on the brink too, so he's said he'd take us four girls to the Armory, where it'd be a little bit more competition hopefully. I'm going to give it another shot!

Can you explain your training and your typical mileage?

I didn't really realize this, but I guess I'm lower mileage for collegiate athletes. I do maybe 55-60 miles a week. I was just 25 miles a week in high school. I came into college and just started working my way up. I've been injured a few times and maybe that's why I have my fifth year now. I'm used to the training and the mileage and could probably bump up mileage soon. But I've been feeling so good and have been healthy for a whole year straight now. I'm comfortable and doing good things at this mileage right now.

If it's not broke, don't fix it!

Exactly. That's what my coach says all the time!

Why Boston from Kansas?

It's kind of a crazy story because I had my heart set on the University of Minnesota randomly. Well, kind of randomly. My extended family lives in Minnesota and I've always been so drawn to the state. I totally thought University of Minnesota. I wasn't highly recruited out of high school and all of my best times were from my freshman year of high school, strangely enough. I battled hyperthyroidism through high school and by junior year, I didn't have any recruiting times. So, it was me seeking out the University of Minnesota. I was like, “No, I promise I'm on the upswing! I'm getting healthy again!” It's hard because coaches are like, “there's really no proof.” It kind of just fell in my lap. I took three official visits and it was to Oklahoma State, University of Minnesota and Boston College. It's because Amy Mortimer—you know Amy Mortimer?

Yes, I do!

It was because of her. She was a volunteer assistant coach at the time. Through Kansas running, I raced against her younger sister Erin Mortimer. She was a senior when I was a freshman in high school. Through Kansas running, she knew my name and she gave me a call one day and it was probably the greatest call of my life. Amy Mortimer was calling me! She was like, “yeah, you should come up to Boston College!” I had never really heard of it. I actually didn't want to come on a visit because I really wanted to go to Minnesota. She's like like, “you have five free visits. You might as well come.” I came up and the coach really wanted me to come. I really appreciated the offer, but I was like, “I'm not really highly recruited and you're really highly recruiting me!” I was wondering what the deal was and I loved the offer...trust me! He said, “I don't know, but I've got a gut feeling about you!” Right when he said that, it was instant. I had to run for this guy. Amy Mortimer and Coach Thomas. Give it all to them!

You're a fifth-year senior. Is your goal to be a teacher?

No, not really. Maybe some day. I studied elementary education and double majored in theology. I graduated with elementary ed and decided I'm probably not going to pursue that. I love little kids, but that may not be my cup of tea. I'm getting my masters right now in theology. BC has just a phenomenal theology department. I wanted to take advantage of it while I was here. I definitely want to pursue something...whatever that means...to be a theologist. I could see myself teaching high school theology in a private, catholic high school. Or, ultimately, I would love to work on a college campus. In campus ministry or campus counseling.

Would you have to get your PhD to do that?

I don't think so, no, because I don't want to be a professor. I don't want to pursue like higher, high ed as far as working on a campus with professing. I might look into coaching, because I love working with college students in general. I just love the college age.

When you get free time, what do you do for fun?

Well, tonight after we got off the airplane from the ACC meet—because I have a lot of Canadian teammates—we watched the Canadian/USA hockey game.

It was a pretty good game, wasn't it?

Yeah, it was. It was a bummer because I'm American and I want America to win. We hang out and have a really good time. Free time...I don't get a lot of that. I'm studying full time as a masters student. I'm kind of in a crunch program too, because I'll be graduating in May with my masters. It's just a fifth-year program. It's nice. We get lunch after practice every day together. We have movie nights every once and a while. It's kind of different because I'm the only fifth year on the team and I don't live on campus anymore. I'm out in an apartment, off campus...half-way in the real world...half-way not.

If you could have one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it?

Besides a bowl of cereal, poured by myself? (Laughs)

You like cereal a lot?

I love cereal!

Can you give me some of your favorites?

Favorite cereal? Oh my goodness, I could go on all day. Captain Crunch, Captain Crunch with Berries, definitely any type of granola, I love those peanut butter balls, Cocoa Puffs or Cracklin' Oat Bran—if I want to go on the oat bran-healthy side, Fruit Loops...we're talking Malto-Meal style when you're little and my mom wouldn't let me buy the box-style Malto-Meal stuff in the bag. Now I know why...now that I'm paying for groceries myself. I'm like, “that's why we get the bags!”

Now real food!

Oh, shoot! Now real food prepared by anyone? I'm not a picky eater at all and I love any meal, prepared by anyone. I'm trying to think about my mom's best meal when I go home. I love my mom's meatloaf. I've realized that a lot of people put just ketchup on their meatloaf. No, my mom uses a great brown sugar meatloaf sauce. She always makes extra sauce, so you never run out. It's great!

Can you give me a crazy running-related story?

This is one of the craziest, funniest things to ever happen to me. Just because I'm used to running in Kansas. I'm from Kansas, so I live on a farm and seeing farm animals is just NOT a surprise to me. I come to Boston and I expect city. And it is city. But, strangely enough, about a half-mile from BC, there are four, full-grown male turkeys. They're wild and they live half a mile from BC. They have this nest on this hill. I just remember my freshman year, there were about 15 of us who just started our run. We approached these four male turkeys and were like, “Oh, my gosh. Turkeys!” One of my teammates, Nicole Lister, she's an animal fiend. She loves animals. She starts running at one and claps her hands. She's like, “turkey, turkey, I want to eat you for dinner!” The turkey starts chasing her and she starts sprinting away. We all freak out because they're so mean! They're huge. They're probably like three feet off the ground. All 15 of us were stopped in the road with the four turkeys. We just can't get past them. Finally, it takes a car and women walking a dog to block these turkeys so we can go around and finish our run.

There's a gang of wild turkeys, taking over Boston...slowly?

Legit. Right by Boston College. When I see them on a run by myself, I will turn around and change my route.

(This may NOT be a crazy story. Harvard student Daniel Chenoweth, a former KWIK-E, mentions wild turkeys in Boston as well in his crazy running-related story. Check it: Dan Chenoweth KWIK-E )

About the Running Warehouse:

My KWIK-Es are sponsored by runningwarehouse.com, located on the California coast in the small community of San Luis Obispo. The folks over there include one of the owners, Joe Rubio, a two hour, 18 minute marathoner and current head coach of the Asics Aggie RC. Jonathan Spiros oversees footwear buying and served many years as assistant coach at College Park High School helping Lindsay Allen. Erik Dube is in charge of accessories and helps with footwear buying. Erik has finished the Western States 100-Mile Race several times and was assistant coach at San Ramon Valley High School helping Scott Bauhs through high school. Erik’s wife, Tera, is in charge of customer service and is an ultra marathoner and former track star at Campolindo High School, where her brother Chuck Woolridge is currently head coach. Kara June handles web content. Kara was 6th at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in the steeplechase. Kara was also third overall at Last Fall’s USATF Club Cross Country Championships. The entire online and phone customer service representative staff at the Running Warehouse, including the staff listed above, have spent considerable time working the retail floor. This, along with the coaching and personal athletic experience, enables the company to have a unique perspective of understanding the needs of every level of runner from beginner to All-American. Check them out when you get a chance!